Saturday I decided to see a new (to me) band based solely on the basis of their name. Bitchin ‘ Summer was the clear winner, opening for the Bouncing Souls and Hot Water Music at the Roseland. I arrived to find a pop-punk band with a female bassist shredding harder than an accountant during tax season, and a drummer that I can only describe as... percussively flawless.
I had a very intense conversation with my good friend Maggie the other day about how the best drummers serve as bandleaders for the entire group, giving cues and maintaining tempo. Jones, as I later found out his name was, is exactly this for Bitchin’ Summer. This guy had the most wicked chops I’ve seen/heard live since I saw The Police last summer in Seattle, (and for those of you who don’t know, I would pretty much give my left ovary to meet Stewart Copeland.) The two male lead singers were also super solid – vocally expressive without compromising tonality, and lyrics that I wanted to sing along to instantly.
The crowd assembled was completely crazy for these guys, singing along to every song and snapping pictures like mad. I later found out from a very sweet girl named Kristin that this was the band’s first major ticket, and many of their friends had flown in from all over just to see them play this show.Awww... These are the moments of rock n’ roll that I truly love, when people come together because they believe in a sound and proceed to successfully convert others. Bitchin’ Summer is lucky to have such friends, and it’s safe to say they have a new fan in me as well. The group just got signed to Fail Safe Records so I’m looking forward to what they’re going to do in the next few months, and hoping for some solid shows this winter.
Given the energy at the Roseland I was tempted to stay for the Bouncing Souls, but the lure of Menomena at the Crystal was too great. First a pit-stop a Berbati’s, though, to see if I could catch some Black Elk before heading up Burnside. But alas, they were running a full set late. I did, however, get to see my friend Dan in full effect drunken awesomeness, which was worth the trip in and of itself. (Dan just got hired with Mike Thrasher Promotions, big up!!!) Next it was off to see some personal favorites, Blind Pilot at the Fez Ballroom.
For those of you not aware, The Fez is a glorious little secret amongst us audiophiles: the sound there is spectacular. It’s a combination of a well-placed system, great acoustics and (usually) an educated sound guy. Unfortunately they were having some technical difficulties Saturday night, which is a damn shame… Blind Pilot got caught in a sound check from hell for about 15 minutes, but to be fair they also had NINE PEOPLE on stage. Jesus! Last time I saw them it was only 5 or 6, but this time it looked like a Mormon compound pre-raid up there. I will, however, gladly and vehemently support massive expansions in band members whenever it includes the induction of a steel guitar player – SUCH a good idea for BP's sound. After some initial monitor feedback, Blind Pilot descended into yet another ethereal set… these guys have such a knack for reading where their audience is at that exact moment and meeting them there instead of forcing a song or a sound on them that doesn’t fit the mood.
I wasn’t able to stay too long because of the impending Menomena/Helio show, but I was fortunate enough to have the pleasure of (briefly) meeting Max, one of the filmmakers that’s documenting Blind Pilot’s “tour by bike” that they’re currently engaged in.
They have a blog set up to document the tour as it happens, I highly recommend checking it out.
Then it was off to the Crystal Ballroom, but not before meeting up with the lovely aforementioned Maggie, who was kind enough to buy my umpteenth drink of the night in exchange for borrowing my extra press pass so she could bypass the line. But truly that last drink was the kiss of death: up until that point, all of the bar lines all night had been so long that I had been… uh, “multi-tasking” and purchasing two drinks at once. I was able to catch the first few songs of Menomena, which were FANTASTIC. Very rarely can a band convey art-rock sensibilities on such a mass-appeal level, but to watch Menomena you’d have no idea.
The night from this point on, sad to say, is a blur that includes a rocking Helio Sequence encore that included Menomena returning to stage to play with them for two songs, a SUPER lame after party with terrible DJ’s and stale macaroni from Montage, and finally passing out with my cowboy boots still on. I showed up for a work meeting the following morning in the same clothes I’d been wearing when I stopped by the night before, (whoops), Gatorade AM clutched in hand and sunglasses strapped to my head for dear life. Oh yeah, and I got hit by a car, but that’s another story. All in all, it was a SPECTACULAR Musicfest and I’m so pleased with the balance of local talent and national acts that the Willamette Week was able to so artfully maintain. Well done! (Now hire me.)
Upcoming shows that I'm ridiculously stoked for:
The Raconteurs at the Roseland, TWO NIGHTS OF SHOWS! Tues. the 16th & Wed. the 17th, Roseland Theatre
An Evening with My Morning Jacket at Edgefield, Saturday, Sept. 27th. (no opening band, 3 hour set… someone pinch me.)
Silver Jews with Monotonix(!!!) at the Wonder Ballroom, Tuesday Sept. 30th.
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